Urban Wine + Liquor

My husband and i were wandering around sice we are staying at the Intercontinental. We went in to buy some Whiskey… maybe something we wanted to try. The clerk never acknowledged us while we were there. We were talking loud enough for her to hear us to see if she would look up from her phone. NOPE. If she would have acknowledged we would have bought. So we left. No wonder theres no one in there. No Customer Service skills!

Visiting for a few days and this place is across from JW Marriot. Great location and top quality inventory. Clean and well organized. Fantastic bourbon selection and an Owner that was onsite and knowledgable about his stick and offered great advice on the hood as well. Would defiantly make this a stop next time I’m in town.

Dog friendly!!! I think NOT. I work in the Frost Bank Tower on Congress and spend at least $ 100 every other Friday at Urban. Tonight my husband wanted some vodka and I recommended the he walk to Urban since he had never been and we live in walking distance. He decided to take our Collie with him since we had taken her for a run around the lake earlier and she still had a ton of energy. My husband put the bottle of vodka on the counter and went to look at the wine. Another customer came in and mentioned something about our dog, and the guy behind the counter said, «yeah your dog has a funky smell». FUNKY SMELL? WTF does that mean? My husband was so embarrassed, bought the vodka and left. When he got home he told me what had happened. I thought for sure that this was just a miscommunication so I called the store. I told the guy who I was and he said he remembered me. I told him that my husband was there earlier and there was a derogatory comment made about my dog. He said, «I don’t think it was derogatory, I was just making a comment». I told him if it wasn’t derogatory it was RUDE. He said, «I have to make sure my store smells a certain way». Attached is a picture of our dog, it’s not like she had been rolling around in the mud all day. If you are going to discriminate, put a sign on the door that says: NO DOGS, NO FAT PEOPLE, NO HOODIES, NO ONE THAT MAKES LESS THAN $ 100k a year, etc. Before we hung up the phone I told him that I would be taking my business to a real wine store — Wine Merchant and YOU SHOULD TOO!

Knowledgable about wine. Owner provided excellent advice about a number of wines that were within my price range. I did not find the owner rude. He was direct and accurate. The selection, the price, and the assistance were all what I expected and wanted.

Walking around downtown and stumbled upon this place. Walked in a was greeted warmly by the owner. He asked if he could help with any of the selection when I was looking, and even complimented my taste. Do yourself a favor and shop here, there is a great selection of products.

Beautiful and clean store with a great selection. Good location. The owner is clearly competent in his field of wine and spirits. He is not, however, gifted at customer service. So don’t expect to be coddled. This is European-​style service, i.e. rude. If the owner could just pay a couple of people-​pleasers to work the counter and educate them on the product, this would be a gem on Congress Ave and a reason to go downtown.

We were drawn in by the beautiful view into the store from the sidewalk and rather than buying anything we ended up getting a restaurant recommendation from Buckley, the store owner. That is an entirely different review of The Bonneville on Cesar Chavez. We’ll have to return to Austin and spend some time in Urban Wine + Liquor.
Cheers to you, Buckley!

Dropped in for a bottle of bourbon and ended up partaking in a spontaneous whiskey tutorial generously provided by Buckley. What I especially appreciated was that Buckley did not automatically direct me exclusively to the most expensive bottles (though I did voluntarily end up purchasing one or two of those!). At one point he even pulled up a Master of Malt review on the Internet to show me a third party perspective on a whiskey I was considering. I emerged with a party in a bag in the form of three tremendous bottles each with its own distinctive tastes and characteristics. So happy to have discovered this neighborhood gem! Thanks Buckley!

Being from a wine producing area of the US, it was nice to find a liquor store with a great wine selection with many very good wines at around $ 20. My sense is that wine is not as popular here in Texas, as on the West coast. Here, the proprietor is very happy to help. Maybe a little too happy. If maybe he had 1 less cup of coffee, I would have given 5 stars, but still, I highly recommend this place for wine lovers.

Recommended. Very convenient to downtown hotels. Personable staff. And… a fine selection of single malt scotch whisky and other fine beverages. When I checked in they had a 10% discount offer for Unilocal check-​ins — the more you buy the more you save.

By far the worst experience I have ever had at a liquor store. We were shopping for liquor for a bachelor party, when the clerk rudely asked if we were going to make a purchase after only being in the store no longer than 5 minutes. Apparently we were taking up far too much of his precious time browsing, it was completely unacceptable behavior. So we left and went far out of our way to make our purchase elsewhere, would suggest the same to anyone else.

Far and away the best liquor store experience I have ever had. I would recommend this place to anyone and plan to return in the future.
My girlfriend and I had just had dinner and were planning to go to a party. On a whim, we decided that we really wanted to try a bottle of nice Mezcal. I searched for the nearest store and this one came up. We walked in and right away the guy behind the counter (older, with gray hair) asked us what we were looking for and when we told him he walked us over to their three shelves of different Mezcals.
He then proceeded to walk us through our different options and different price ranges. Really nice, funny and conversational. I know this sounds like a fake review from how positive I am, but seriously this was awesome. He said «OK, I’ll let you guys discuss and make your decision» and went back to the counter. We picked a Mezcal from Oaxaca and everyone at the party loved it.
Great store, great advice. Wish there were more like it.

I work downtown and stopped here the other day because it’s really conveniently located on Congress. I was so impressed! The place looks super cool and they had an awesome selection. Buckley helped me choose an excellent wine, and I loved how friendly and knowledgeable he was. It looks like they do all kinds of tasting events, so I look forward to stopping by after work one day to try some new things.

Yes, this place is clean and aesthetically pleasing! Then why two stars? Because the store owner what’s been rude both times I’ve gone in. He made me feel like an asshole because I didn’t buy a $ 67 bottle of vodka. He also gave my friends, on a different occasion, a really hard time because they got mixers and a small bottle of liquor. Last time I checked, there’s still a crazy high mark up in soft drinks too.
I will go out of my way to give my business to a different local owner that won’t make me leave feeling angry.

I don’t think I’ve ever had so much fun shopping for vices — sure, it’s great fun consuming ‘em but who knew buying bottles could be so interesting?
The shop’s owner, Buckley, comes from a restaurant and food writing background making him a very knowledgeable guy to chat up. He’s also very passionate about food and beverage pairings and is happy to wax poetic should you need some direction.
As for the store — I love the way it’s laid out. The aesthetic is so clean, down to how much room the bottles have on the shelves. It makes for such attractive presentation! Whether you’re hunting down fancy liqueurs, the most sophisticated of scotch, craft beer or that obscure bottle of wine, Buckley will quickly acquaint you with your poison of choice.
I was so impressed that they stock Croatian wine as I’ve had a really tough time locating it here in Austin. Ever since my parents’ favorite European wine shop closed in St. Louis, my family has run into difficulty sourcing their favorite Balkan wines. Luckily, I found Urban Wine + Liquor right before a trip back to my hometown and I was able to connect my family with a precious bottle! Instant hero status? You know it.